Can The Hawks Finally Close Out The Magic? posted by Hawks News

Atlanta made it a point to win their regular-season series with Orlando after getting demolished in last year’s playoffs, and they did a great job in jumping out to a 3-1 series lead. However, the Hawks were pummeled in Orlando on Tuesday night by a final score of 101-76, and now a seed of doubt has been planted. Do the Atlanta Hawks have the heart to rid themselves of the Orlando Magic on Thursday night?

Teams can be accused of taking their foot off the gas with a 3-1 lead in a series, and that certainly looked to be the case as the Hawks were down by 13 points at the end of the first quarter, and then 23 points at halftime. The most discouraging aspect of the game for those betting on Atlanta’s  NBA odds wasn’t that they allowed the Magic to get hot from three-point land, which is something they smothered in the first four games of the series (Orlando shot 11-of-26 from beyond the arc), but it was that the Magic had such an easy time dismantling the Hawks with  Dwight Howard battling foul trouble and not shooting the ball. Howard had been destroying the Hawks, but last night, he took four shots, and ended up with eight points and eight rebounds in 29 minutes. The Hawks looked lethargic right out of the gate, and the fact that they let the Magic run roughshod over them without Howard having a big game has to be deflating.

This is where veteran leadership comes in handy, because if the Hawks don’t win Game 6 at home, they’re going to be huge underdogs in Game 7 in Orlando. The duo of Jamal Crawford and Joe Johnson has to put Atlanta on their shoulders, particularly Johnson. Whether it’s fair or unfair, Johnson signed a max deal in the summer and is looked at as the star of the team, but Crawford has been doing the heavy lifting as a sixth man. Johnson has to hold up his end of the bargain or else, the Hawks could end up keeping the label of being a mentally soft team.

Bulls Roll On Behind Rose's 34 points posted by Richard Kagan

The Chicago Bulls beat the Atlanta Hawks 94-76 tonight as the Bulls outrebounded the Hawks by an almost two to one margin, 50-28.  Kurt Thomas started for injured Carlos Boozer and hauled in 13 boards.  Joakin Noah added 11 of his own.  And, Derrick Rose, caught fire in the third quarter and scored 18 of his 34 points.  Rose is making a strong case for Most Valuable Player of the Year award.  He is the main reason why Chicago is heading toward 50+ wins this year.

This season it is not a question of if the Bulls make the playoffs, but how high they will finish in the Conference.  Who would ever think that the Bulls would be giving the Miami Heat with Lebron James, DWade, and Chris Bosch a battle?

This season, it has come together for Chicago.  Their coach, Tom Thibedeau, has done a masterful job, handling the injuries and finding the right player to fit in.  Give props to the Bulls bench, one of the strongest in the league.  Thomas got the nod tonight but it could have been Taj Gibson.  Kyle Korver, the guard has been the three point specialist, coming off the bench.  He finds a way to come through.

I like the Bulls to finish strong when Boozer returns to the lineup.  Give Luol Deng a game off.  He really deserves it.  He most averaging most minutes on the team, and one of the highest averages per game in the NBA.  The man has to be tired. 

NBA Playoffs Eastern conference posted by john howard

It's the All-Star break and time to asses where the season is at.  There are roughly 30 games left and the trading deadline is looming.  Here is a look at the playoffs if they were today.

1 Cleveland vs.  8 Chicago

2 Orlando vs   7 Miami

3 Atlanta vs 6 Charlotte

4 Boston vs 5 Toronto

Chicago looks like they have regressed overall from last year. But lately, they have started getting into the groove. Derrick Rose is unreal and they might win a game but they won't beat Cleveland.

Miami has one of the top 3 players in the game in Dwayne Wade.  This team could look different by playoff time. No matter how the team looks, it would take an incredible performance for even Wade to beat out Orlando.

Charlotte is a great story of over achieving.  They might be able to push Atlanta to a game 6, but that would be the best they could do.

The quietest success has been Toronto.  They are the 5th seed and no one is talking about them.  They have a shot to beat the Celtics if Boston is plagued with injuries.  But this has been a good year so far for the Raptors.

Boston has fallen from favorite to the 4th seed.  They still have the experience and firepower to go all the way. But, to do that everyone is going to have to get healthy and be at peak level which hasn't happened this year. Time is running out on the Celtics.

3 Atlanta has the best team in years.  They could be the underdog favorite after the first round.  A matchup with Orlando in round 2 is going to be fun.  Should they get past the Magic, they will be convinced they can beat anybody. 

Hawks soaring high on new NBA season posted by nbahawks

The Atlanta Hawks is creating a lot of buzz in the new season of the National Basketball Association.Despite their less stellar lineup, the Hawks is on top of the leader-board in the young season of the premier professional basketball league in the planet. The Hawks is currently sporting an impressive 11-2 record after they defeated the Houston Rockets 105-103 Friday night.High flying Hawks power forward Josh Smith played hero for the top team in the NBA by scoring on a put back from a miss by Hawks top point guard Mike Bibby with 0.7 seconds remaining. Marvin Williams, the starting small forward of the Hawks top scored for the team with 29 points to help defeat the Rockets, one of the top teams in the NBA Western Conference.The recent victory of the Hawks is remarkable since the Rockets are on the verge of defeating the team and hand them their third loss but the impressive play of Smith saved the youth laden ball club to escaped with a victory. Prior to his game winning shot, Smith stayed mostly from the bench due to foul trouble but he was able to returned in the waning moments of the game and lead his team to victory.The strong and impressive plays of the Hawks is getting huge praise from basketball fans and experts. During the off-season, the Hawks is not among the top contenders for the NBA crown this season due to their less star studded roster. However, despite the lack of big named players in its lineup, the Hawks still showed class and impressive talent to defeat 11 teams so far.Aside from the strong plays of its veteran players Smith, Bibby and Joe Johnson, the Hawks also get huge contribution from newly acquired NBA veteran Jamal Crawford who contribute in both offence and defence for the team. Aside from the Hawks, the run and gun Phoenix Suns is also playing good this NBA season. NBA superstars point-guard Steve Nash and power forward Amare Stoudamire are playing well to lead the Suns to an impressive record in the NBA.Fans of Hawks team can buy the tickets to watch the NBA game live.

New Era of NBA Bigs? posted by Scott Shepherd

Have you looked at the league leaders yet this season?

There are some familiar faces atop some of the big categories. Kobe leads the league in scoring. Nash leads the league in assists. Rondo leads the league in steals.

You almost expect to see those guys near the top of those categories.

But have you taken a look at the league leaders in rebounds? It’s not exactly a who’s who of NBA big men over the past few years.

Here’s the top ten:

1. Gerald Wallace 13.8

2. Marc Gasol 11.9

T3. Chris Bosh 11.6

T3. Carlos Boozer 11.6

5. Dwight Howard 11.1

6. Joakim Noah 11.0

T7. Brendan Haywood 10.7

T7. Al Horford 10.7

T7. Zach Randolph 10.7

10. Emeka Okafor 10.5

I know it’s still very early in the season, and inevitably some of these names will fall out of the top ten. But as of right now, only three of the top ten rebounders have ever played in an all-star game (Bosh, Boozer, Howard).

Last year, six of the top ten rebounders have been all-stars. The year before that the number was five. Before that, it was eight.

What does it all mean? Probably nothing. Like I said, it’s still early.

But, it could mean that there has been a shift in the way teams are putting together their rosters.

Earlier in the decade, there seemed to be a real focus on finding big guys who could not only rebound, but contribute offensively as well. The logic behind that makes sense; you want a player that can do everything in your lineup.

Jamal Crawford to Hawks posted by john howard

The Hawks appear to be sending both backup point guards to Golden State for Jamal Crawford.  This brings makes signing Mike Bibby more imperative.  To do so, they may not match offers that Marvin Williams receives.  Acie Law and Speedy Claxton both are being shipped.  Neither really played much last year.  Joe Johnson lead the team in assist even though he isn't a point guard.  I doubt they will use him as one.  Andre Miller and Jason Kidd are both available on the market.  My bet is on Bibby returning. Crawford could play the point, but he would be better off as the 2 guard.  He did average 4.4 assist along wth 19.7 points.  

For Golden State, this move is to cut salary.  They aren't getting anything in return.  Maybe a potential back up in Law but, not likely. Monte Eillis can play the point with CJ Watson backing him up.  Crawford played 55 games last year, so they are use to playing without him.  They free up cap room is all they did.

 Atlanta just got better.

Atlanta Hawks draft posted by john howard

The Atlanta Hawks had another good year. They keep taking steps closer to the Eastern finals.  To do so this year, they will have to deal with a lot of free agents.  Mike Bibby is the only starter that is a free agent and a very big key to this team.  Ronald Murray and Zach Pachulia were two key players off the bench that are also free agents.  Marvin Williams is a restricted free agent and will probably get a pretty good offer that Atlanta can match.  To keep things moving in the right direction, the Hawks have got to resign Bibby and not let Williams go either.  I don't think they will be able to keep all 4 players.  That's where we look at the draft.  Atlanta has the 19th and 49th picks.  The 19th pick could suit Atlanta well in the fact that in the past 14 years 9 bench players and 1 starter has come from that spot.  So, they should get someone off the bench.  The 49th pick has produced 3 bench players.  So, there is a shot there.  Today is a big day for many teams.  Atlanta's big day is still to come.Continue reading "Atlanta Hawks draft"

Atlanta Hawks summer posted by john howard

The Hawks continue to improve and will continue to improve providing the resign Mike Bibby.  The most important move they can make this summer is to retain the 31 year old point guard.  Last year he made 14million and they will have to be close to that to keep him.  If someone manages to lure him away, there is no viable option on the team. They have the 19th pick in the draft.  However, that won't yield them a player that is ready to step in.  There are three other options:

Jason Kidd would be a one or two year stop.  He would make the team better, but not enough to sacrifice the chemistry that is there with Bibby.

Andre Miller would be perhaps the best fit should Bibby leave.  If Bibby goes to Philly, expect Miller to arrive in Atlanta.

The most inriuging idea is Allen Iverson.  This guy might still have enough in the tank to take them another level higher.  It would be fun to watch.  Yet, the best bet might be to keep Bibby and find what everyone is looking for---an other inside scorer.

Manny being Manny: The Latest twist in the Steroid Saga posted by Chris Strickland

Steroids has officially gone postal.

The list of all-star players who have been revealed to be using steroids: Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Mark McGwire, Rafael Palmeiro, Andy Pettitte, Jason Giambi, Miguel Tejada, Alex Rodriguez, now.......MANNY RAMIREZ.

It makes sense when you think about it. The baggy uniform. The dreads to cover up his huge head (they all have huge heads). How he erupted last year when he was with the Red Sox and practically mauled a team assistant. How he always used to spend time in the Green Monster and no one would question what he was doing. This brings us to my theory.

My theory of why Manny started juicing is because upon signing with the Sox, at his press conference, he swore to the front office, the media, and the Fenway Faithful that he was going to BEAT THE YANKEES. I'm sure he woke up the next morning, in an empty Boston apartment full of scattered Tecates, and uttered..."What happened last night?" It's like when you're drunk and you get carried away, you end up doing something you regret. Either you make a bad dance move, throw the ping pong ball into some girl's boobs at beer pong, or in Manny's case, make a promise to beat the most bad-ass dynasty in baseball at the time. Oops.

So the next morning, Manny calls up his friend. Say his friend's name is, um..."Big Papi." Let's call him that for now. "Big Papi" offers Manny something that can help him beat the Yankees.

Manny: "What you got, ese?"

Papi: "Don't call me ese."

Manny: "Sorry. I'm just being myself."

Are the Atlanta Hawks allergic to playing Defense? posted by SportsJunkie

For the second game in a row the Hawks just stood on the floor and watched Lebron James fly through the air and do whatever wants every single quarter of the game.    Why did they even beat the Miami Heat if they were going to be so uncompetitive in Round 2?   The Hawks are playing right now to be on Radio Only for the next games because I'm sure hawks fans don't want to see two more blowouts.    Come on Atlanta try and look interested in advancing to the 3rd round and not just stand around looking confused when Lebron James has the ball.   Atleast try and get physical with Lebron and allow TV viewers to watch a good game since they pay a monthly cable bill.   Give me something for my money in Game 3 and not just put on a uniform to play the role of a statue for three hours.Continue reading "Are the Atlanta Hawks allergic to playing Defense?"

Hawks owner Gearon fined $35K for ripping Garnett (Yahoo! Sports)

ATLANTA (AP) The NBA has fined Atlanta Hawks co-owner Michael Gearon Jr. $35,000 for publicly criticizing NBA officiating and making negative comments about an opposing player. [read full article]

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Boston Celtics Vs. Philadelphia 76ers Playoff Schedule (Yahoo! Contributor Network)

The Boston Celtics vs. Philadelphia 76ers playoff schedule has been released by the NBA. All of the dates are set for the second round series, allowing fans to begin planning which nights will get dedicated to watching the match-up play out. The Celtics got to this point by defeating the Atlanta Hawks in the first round of the 2012 NBA Playoffs and the 76ers knocked off the No. 1 seeded Chicago Bulls. [read full article]

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Hawks facing decisions on 9 free agents, coach, GM (Yahoo! Sports)

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Celtics beat Hawks 83-80 to advance in East (Yahoo! Sports)

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Horford, Hawks stay alive, beat Celtics 87-86 (Yahoo! Sports)

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